Category Archives: Annemarie Stroud

How long is a lifetime?  A glance at an actuarial table will tell you something about average life expectancy, but no guarantees there.  My Grandmother and Great-Grandmother lived well into their eighties; my first two children never saw a birthday. … Continue reading →

My mother taught me some amazing lessons. And in honor of her and all mothers this Mothers’ Day Monday, allow me to share some of her wisdom. 1. Pick your battles. Everything is not worth fighting over. 2. Ignore mean … Continue reading →

True story: While in St. Paul for Jered’s institution as rector of St. John the Evangelist’s parish, I found myself in dire need of a haircut.  Now usually I just take the clippers to my own head; but as I … Continue reading →

Sixty seconds in a minute, sixty minutes in an hour, twenty-four hours in a day, 7 days in a week, 52 weeks in a year.  Time can fly, hang, and stand still.  Time, and our relationship to it, seems always … Continue reading →

I didn’t want to go to Communion this past Sunday.  Just didn’t want to.  Since I was on the schedule to lead the Teen Service, I ducked into the Little Sanctuary fully planning on ditching when the group left to … Continue reading →

It is lighter longer into the evening.  The grass is greener. The air stays just that wee bit warmer through the night.  A new season is upon us. As the past few months of preparation and reflection fall away, and … Continue reading →

Funny thing about the truth, it is there–sitting in our living rooms, not using a coaster, and filling up the ashtrays–whether we acknowledge it or not.  It would never occur to me to ignore a guest, welcome or otherwise, in … Continue reading →

This Sunday, as I — well, I can’t use the verb played. Rather, I made a great deal of noise on the baby tuba during the procession around the church — certain thoughts went round my mind.  I couldn’t tell … Continue reading →

Sometimes my ‘Daily Cups’ seem to write themselves.  A topic or an observation from the past week just rolls around in my mind and ejects itself into a fairly understandable form on the electronic page.  Other weeks, it isn’t so … Continue reading →

In the first lesson this Sunday, we were reminded of the escape of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt.  And how, amidst their flight, they spent a great deal of time whinging about the heat, lack of food, and myriad … Continue reading →